Three-dimensional (3d) ultrasound system for scanning object inside human body and method for operating 3d ultrasound system

ABSTRACT

Provided is a three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound system and a 3D ultrasound system operating method that may obtain 3D ultrasound data with respect to an object inside a human body to determine an accurate sagittal view. The 3D ultrasound system may include a scanner to generate ultrasound data including image data generated by scanning an object inside a human body, a processing unit to detect a center point of the object from the generated ultrasound data, and to generate, on the ultrasound data, a virtual plane on which the detected center point is placed, and a controller to rotate the ultrasound data based on the image data included in the virtual plane and to determine a sagittal view with respect to the object.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application Nos.10-2010-0021136 and 10-2010-0049028, respectively filed on Mar. 10, 2010and May 26, 2010, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein by references.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present invention relates to a three-dimensional (3D) ultrasoundsystem of scanning an object inside a human body and a method ofoperating the 3D ultrasound system.

2. Description of the Related Art

An ultrasound system may transmit, from the surface of a human body, anultrasound signal toward a predetermined portion inside the human body,for example, a fetus, an organ, and the like, to obtain an imageassociated with a section of soft tissue or the bloodstream by usinginformation of the ultrasound signal having been reflected from tissueinside the body.

The ultrasound system has an advantage of being small, inexpensive,displayable in real time, and reliable since a subject is not exposed toan X-ray and the like and thus, the ultrasound system is widely usedtogether with other image diagnostic devices, such as a computerizedtomography (CT) scanner, a magnetic resonance image (MRI) device, anuclear medicine device, and the like.

A fetus having Down's syndrome is generally identified based on a schemeof measuring a thickness of a nuchal translucency (NT) of the fetus. Thescheme was designed by Nicolaides, in 1992. When the fetus has Down'ssyndrome, a thick NT is observed since body fluid is accumulated in asubcutaneous tissue of a neck.

Specifically, when the fetus has a chromosomal anomaly or a deformity ofthe heart, a thick NT is often observed. Therefore, a physician maymeasure a thickness of the NT of the fetus through the ultrasoundsystem, and may observe the fetus using a Chorionic Villus samplingscheme or an amniocentesis scheme when the thickness is over 2.5 mm.

As another scheme of identifying Down's syndrome in a fetus, an anglebetween the palate and the dorsum nasi, namely, the frontmaxillaryfacial (FMF) angle, may be measured. The FMF angle of a normal fetus is78.1 degrees, and a fetus having an FMF angle of 88.7 degrees has a highpossibility of having Down's syndrome. There are various schemes foridentifying Down's syndrome, such as measuring the biparietal diameter(BPD), Head Circumference (HC), Abdominal Circumference (AC), FemurLength (FL), and the like. A gestational age and a weight of the fetusmay be estimated based on the schemes.

A process of obtaining an accurate sagittal view from ultrasound dataneeds to be performed in advance, to identify Down's syndrome in thefetus by measuring the thickness of the NT and the FMF angle between thepalate and the dorsum nasi.

Conventionally, however, the sagittal view is determined based onexperience of the physician and thus, the measured thickness of the NTof the fetus or the FMF angle between the palate and the dorsum nasi maybe different from an actual thickness and an actual angle. Accordingly,there has been a difficulty in making an accurate diagnosis.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the present invention provides a three-dimensional (3D)ultrasound system and a 3D ultrasound system operating method that maydetect a center point of an object inside a human body from 3Dultrasound data with respect to the object, may rotate the ultrasounddata using image data included in a virtual plane on which the detectedcenter point is placed and thus, may automatically determine an accuratesagittal view with respect to the object.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a 3D ultrasound systemand a 3D ultrasound system operating method that may measure, fromultrasound data determined as a sagittal view, a thickness of an NT of afetus or an FMF angle between a dorsum nasi of the fetus and a palate ofthe fetus, to accurately diagnose whether the fetus has an abnormality,when an object is the fetus.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a 3D ultrasound systemand a 3D ultrasound system operating method that may finely rotateultrasound data to redetermine a sagittal view.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a 3D ultrasound systemand a 3D ultrasound system operating method that may determine adirection of a head of a fetus, may select, as a reference axis, alocation of a falx included in data where data obtained by scanning thefalx in the determined direction of the head is outputted to bebrightest and thus, the reference axis used for rotating the ultrasounddata to determine the sagittal view may be determined.

According to example embodiments, there may be provided a 3D ultrasoundsystem, the system including a scanner to generate ultrasound dataincluding image data generated by scanning an object inside a humanbody, a processing unit to detect a center point of the object from thegenerated ultrasound data, and to generate, on the ultrasound data, avirtual plane on which the detected center point is placed, and acontroller to rotate the ultrasound data based on the image dataincluded in the virtual plane and to determine a sagittal view withrespect to the object.

According to example embodiments, there may be provided a 3D ultrasoundsystem operating method, the method including generating ultrasound dataincluding image data generated by scanning an object inside a humanbody, detecting a center of the object from the generated ultrasounddata, generating, on the ultrasound data, a virtual plane on which thedetected center point is placed, and determining a sagittal view withrespect to the object by rotating the ultrasound data based on the imagedata included in the virtual plane.

Additional aspects and/or advantages will be set forth in part in thedescription which follows and, in part, will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the embodiments.

EFFECT

According to embodiments, an accurate sagittal view may be automaticallydetermined by three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound data with respect to anobject inside a human body.

According to embodiments, whether a fetus has an abnormality may beaccurately diagnosed by measuring, from ultrasound data determined as asagittal view, a thickness of an NT of the fetus or an FMF angle betweena dorsum nasi of the fetus and a palate of the fetus, when an object isthe fetus.

According to embodiments, a sagittal view may be redetermined based on afine movement of a fetus.

According to embodiments, a sagittal view may be reliably determined bydetermining a direction of a head of a fetus, and selecting, as areference axis, a location of a falx included in data where dataobtained by scanning the falx in the determined direction of the head isoutputted to be brightest

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and advantages will become apparent and morereadily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments,taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a 3Dultrasound system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an object inside a human body andultrasound data generated by scanning the object according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a 3D ultrasound system operatingmethod according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of setting a reference axisaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to example embodiments, examples ofwhich are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals refer to the like elements throughout.

FIG. 1 illustrates an internal configuration of a three-dimensional (3D)ultrasound system 100 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the 3D ultrasound system 100 may include a scanner110, a processing unit 120, and a controller 130.

The scanner 110 may generate ultrasound data including image datagenerated by scanning an object inside a human body. The object insidethe human body may be a fetus, an organ, and the like. The scanner 110may generate, as the ultrasound data, the image data generated byscanning the fetus, the organ, and the like.

As an example of generating the ultrasound data, the scanner 110 may seta region of interest (ROI) with respect to the object and may locate aseed in the set ROI. In this example, when the object is the fetus, theseed may be located adjacent to an NT of the fetus. The scanner 110 maygenerate the image data by scanning the object using a 3D ultrasound togenerate the ultrasound data with respect to the object. An areaoccupied by the object in the generated ultrasound data may be thegenerated image data.

The processing unit 120 may detect a center point of the object from thegenerated ultrasound data, and may generate a virtual plane on which thedetected center point is placed. The processing unit 120 may generatethe virtual plane including the detected center point on the ultrasounddata and thus, may form a B-Plane. For example, the B-Plane may be aplane displaying image data viewed from a head of the fetus.

For example, when the object inside the human body is the fetus, theprocessing unit 120 may determine, from the generated ultrasound data, afirst feature point associated with a dorsum nasi of the fetus, maydetermine a second feature point associated with a palate of the fetusbased on the determined first feature point, and may detect the centerpoint of the object, namely, a head of the fetus, based on the secondfeature point.

Specifically, the processing unit 120 may determine the first featurepoint associated with the dorsum nasi of the fetus based on the seedlocated adjacent to the NT of the fetus from an A-Plane, the A-Planeillustrating a side of the fetus, and may determine the second featurepoint associated with the palate based on the first feature point. Theprocessing unit 120 may detect the center point of the head of the fetusfrom the A-Plane based on the first feature point and the second featurepoint. A point in the ultrasound data may be determined as the centerpoint of the head of the fetus, and the point may be experimentallydetermined, to be close to an actual center of the head, based on yearsof experiences and experimentations. For example, a point locatedseveral centimeters apart from the second feature point, from amongpoints included in a virtual line generated between the first featurepoint and the second feature point.

The processing unit 120 may generate, on the ultrasound data, theB-plane, namely, a virtual plane that includes the detected center pointof the head of the fetus and is vertical to the A-Plane.

For reference, the processing unit 120 may approximately determine thefirst feature point, the second feature point, and the center point byappropriately combining and utilizing a well-known algorithm and animage processing with respect to the ultrasound data, and by utilizingintegrated data based on years of experiences and experimentations.

The controller 130 may rotate the ultrasound data based on the imagedata included in the virtual plane to determine a sagittal view withrespect to the object. When the B-Plane is rotated, the A-Plane beingvertical to the B-Plane may be interoperably rotated. The controller 130may enable the A-plane to be the sagittal view based on the rotation ofthe B-plane. When the object is the fetus, the image data included inthe virtual plane may be an area corresponding to the object viewed froma direction of the head of the fetus.

For example, the controller 130 may match a figure corresponding to theimage data with the image data included in the virtual plane, and mayrotate the ultrasound data to enable an axis constituting the matchedfigure to be parallel with a predetermined reference axis.

The reference axis may be a line used as a reference when the ultrasounddata is rotated to correct the ultrasound data to generate the sagittalview. The 3D ultrasound system 100 may further include a directionidentifier 160 to select the reference axis.

When the object is the fetus, the direction identifier 160 may identifya direction of the head of the fetus from the ultrasound data. Featuresof the scanned fetus may be identified from the ultrasound dataincluding a vague shape of the fetus, by identifying the direction ofthe head of the fetus.

The direction identifier 160 may estimate the direction of the head byscoring with respect to an FMF angle. The direction identifier 160 mayobtain a plurality of slice data with respect to a side direction of theultrasound data, and may determine the direction of the head of thefetus based on an FMF angle of each slice data measured by the measuringunit 150.

A process where the direction identifier 160 identifies the direction ofthe head may be described.

The direction identifier 160 may detect a nasal bridge from each slicedata of the A-Plane and may perform scoring with respect to the detectednasal bridge.

1) Top-Hat Transform

The direction identifier 160 may apply a top-hat transform to theultrasound data to detect the nasal bridge and the palate.

The top-hat transform is applied to the ultrasound data to compensatefor weak points of other schemes utilized for restoring an originalimage, for example, an edge detection scheme or a scheme of applying athreshold to the original image. When the original image of the fetus isrestored based on the edge detection scheme, the edge detection schememay have a weak point in restoring a boundary of the fetus, a boundaryof the ultrasound data, and other tissues of the mother, together withan original image of the fetus. The scheme of applying threshold to theoriginal image may have a weak point of restoring an image of skin ofthe fetus, the placenta of the mother, and the like which are relativelybright compared with a background, together with the original image ofthe fetus.

The direction identifier 160 may restore the image of the fetus in theultrasound data by applying top-hat transform to the ultrasound data, toremove the obstructive factors. The top-hat transform may be awell-known scheme and thus, a detailed example of using the top-hattransform is omitted.

2) Adaptive Thresholding

The direction identifier 160 may apply a threshold with respect to animage generated by applying the top-hat transform to the ultrasounddata, the threshold being generated by appropriately combining a meanand a standard deviation of an entire image. The direction identifier160 may obtain, from the ultrasound data, a thresholded image from whichbright details including the nasal bridge and the palate are extracted.

The direction identifier 160 distinguishes the nasal bridge and thepalate from the ultrasound data by applying top-hat transform and anadaptive threshold to the ultrasound data.

3) Detection of Nasal Bridge Line (NBL)

The direction identifier 160 may detect a nasal bridge line (NBL) fromthe thresholded image, and may estimate the direction of the head of thefetus based on an angle of a slope of the NBL.

For example, when the NBL of the thresholded image may have a slope of‘\’, the direction identifier 160 may estimate the direction of the headof the fetus based on the slope and an FMF angle between the NBL and thepalate, as being on the left on the A-Plane.

4) Scoring

Arms of the fetus, the placenta of the mother, and bright regions ofother tissues exist around the head of the fetus. Therefore, when thedirection of the head of the fetus is estimated by only detecting an NBLfor a A-Plane of an initial plane, a great number of errors may occur. Anasal bridge or a zygomatic bone is symmetrical around a face of thefetus and thus, the direction identifier 160 may obtain plurality ofslice data with respect to the side direction of the ultrasound databased on the initial plane, may determine an NBL for each of theplurality of obtained slice data, and may perform scoring with respectto a direction estimated from each slice data, to detect an accuratedirection of the head.

For example, when ten slice data are obtained from the ultrasound data,the direction identifier 160 may perform scoring with respect to thedirection of the head estimated from each slice data, as‘left:right=7:3’. Therefore, the left having a relatively higher scoremay be determined as the direction of the head of the fetus.

The controller 130 may select, as a reference axis, a location of a falxincluded in a reference image having a highest brightness intensityamong reference images obtained by scanning the falx of the fetus in thedetermined direction of the head. The controller 130 may determine, asthe reference axis used for obtaining the sagittal view, the locationwhere the reference image outputted to be brightest.

When the A-plane is used for a mid-sagittal view, a falx cerebri regionis evenly bright, the A-plane showing a side of the fetus. However, whenthe A-Plane is not used for mid-sagittal view, the falx cerebri regionmay not evenly bright, and may have a dark region.

The controller 130 may move and rotate the ultrasound data based on acenter of the head and may determine a case where the falx region isbrightest and is evenly distributed, as the mid-sagittal view, namely,the reference axis for determining the sagittal view.

The rotation of the ultrasound data performed by the controller 130 willbe described again. As another example, the controller 130 may match afigure with image data included in the virtual plane, and may rotate theultrasound data by an angle between an axis constituting the matchedfigure and the predetermined reference axis.

For example, the controller 130 may determine the figure matched withthe image data as an oval. In this example, the controller 130 may focuson, using a predetermined color or a predetermined line, the figurematched with the image data to display the focused figure on a displayscreen. When the figure matched with the image data is determined as theoval, the controller 130 may display, on the display screen, informationassociated with at least one of a major axis, a minor axis, and acircumference of the oval.

The controller 130 may rotate the ultrasound data to enable the majoraxis of the oval to be parallel with a reference axis of the image data,the major axis passing a center point of the object and the referenceaxis being a vertical axis or a y axis. The controller 130 may rotatethe ultrasound data by an angle between the major axis of the oval andthe reference axis of the image data.

According to an embodiment, an accurate sagittal view may beautomatically determined based on 3D ultrasound data with respect to theobject inside the human body.

The controller 130 may finely rotate the ultrasound data based on amanipulation of an operator to redetermine the sagittal view.Accordingly, when the object is the fetus, the controller 130 may finelyrotate the ultrasound data based on the manipulation of the operator,and the manipulation may be based on a fine movement of the fetus andthus, a more accurate sagittal view may be determined.

According to another embodiment, the 3D ultrasound system 100 mayfurther include a seed setting unit 140 and a measuring unit 150.

When the object inside a human body is the fetus, the seed setting unit140 may set a seed around the NT of the fetus in the ultrasound data,the ultrasound data being determined as the sagittal view by performingthe rotation.

The measuring unit 150 may automatically measure, from the ultrasounddata determined as the sagittal view, a thickness of the NT of the fetusbased on the set seed to display the measured thickness on the displayscreen.

Therefore, the operator or a physician may more accurately diagnosewhether the fetus has an abnormality, based on the measured thickness ofthe NT of the fetus. In this example, the measuring unit 150 may focuson the NT of the fetus in the ultrasound data, using a predeterminedcolor or a predetermined line, and may display the focused around theseed.

According to another embodiment, the measuring unit 150 mayautomatically measure, from the ultrasound data determined as thesagittal view, an FMF angle between the first feature point associatedwith the dorsum nasi of the fetus and the second point associated withthe palate of the fetus, and may display the measured FMF angle on thedisplay screen. Therefore, the operator or the physician may moreaccurately diagnose whether the fetus has an abnormality, based on themeasured FMF angle. In this example, the measuring unit 150 may focusthe first feature point and the second feature point in the ultrasounddata, using a predetermined color or a predetermined line to display onthe display screen.

In this example, when the sagittal view is redetermined by finelyrotating the ultrasound data based on the manipulation of the operator,the measuring unit 150 may edit the measured thickness of the NT of thefetus, the measured FMF angle, the circumference of the figure matchedwith the image data, for example the circumference of the oval, and thelike.

Therefore, according to an embodiment, when the object is the fetus, thethickness of the NT of the fetus or the FMF angle between the dorsumnasi and the palate of the fetus are measured from the ultrasound datadetermined as the sagittal view and thus, whether the fetus has anabnormality may be accurately diagnosed.

FIG. 2 illustrates a fetus 210 inside a human body and ultrasound data220 generated by scanning the fetus 210 according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, a 3D ultrasound system may scan the fetus 210 usinga 3D ultrasound system, to generate the ultrasound data 220. In thisexample, an area corresponding to the fetus 210 in the generatedultrasound data 220 may be image data. A seed may be located around anNT 230 of the fetus 210.

The 3D ultrasound system may automatically measure, from the ultrasounddata 220 determined as a sagittal view, a thickness of the NT 230 of thefetus 210 based on a set seed, and may display the measured NT on adisplay screen. Therefore, an operator or a physician may moreaccurately diagnose whether the fetus 210 has an abnormality, based onthe measured thickness of the NT 230 of the fetus 210. In this example,the measuring unit 150 may focus on the NT 230 of the fetus 210 in theultrasound data 220, using a predetermined color or a predeterminedline, and may display the focused NT 230 around the seed.

FIG. 3 illustrates a 3D ultrasound system operating method according toan embodiment of the present invention.

According to an embodiment, the 3D ultrasound system operating methodmay be embodied by the 3D ultrasound system 100. The 3D ultrasoundsystem operating method may be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and3.

In operation 310, the 3D ultrasound system 100 generates ultrasound dataincluding image data generated by scanning an object inside a humanbody.

In this example, the object inside the human body may be a fetus and anorgan.

For example, the scanner 110 may set an ROI with respect to the object,and may locate a seed in the set ROI. When the object is the fetus, theseed may be located around an NT of the fetus. The scanner 110 may scanthe object using a 3D ultrasound to generate ultrasound data. An areacorresponding to the object in the generated ultrasound data may beimage data.

In operations 320 and 330, the 3D ultrasound system 100 detects a centerpoint of the object from the generated ultrasound data, and the 3Dultrasound system 100 generates, on the ultrasound data, a virtual planeon which the detected center point is placed.

For example, when the object inside the human body is the fetus, theprocessing unit 120 determines, from the generated ultrasound data, afirst feature point associated with a dorsum nasi of the fetus,determines a second feature point associated with a palate of the fetusbased on the determined first feature point, and detects the centerpoint of the object based on the determined second feature point,namely, a center point of a head of the fetus.

Specifically, the processing unit 120 determines the first feature pointassociated with the dorsum nasi based on the seed located around the NTof the fetus from the A-Plane, the A-Plane illustrating a side of thefetus, and may determine the second feature point associated with thepalate based on the first feature point. The processing unit 120 maydetermine the center point of the head of the fetus from the A-Plane,based on the first feature point and the second feature point. Theprocessing unit 120 may generate the B-Plane that is a virtual planeincluding the determined center point of the head of the fetus and beingvertical to the A-Plane.

For reference, the processing unit 120 may determine the first featurepoint, the second feature point, and the center point, using apredetermined algorithm and image processing with respect to theultrasound data or using integrated data based on years ofexperimentations.

In operation 340, the 3D ultrasound system 100 rotates the ultrasounddata using the image data included in the virtual plane, and determinesthe sagittal view with respect to the object.

The image data may be an area corresponding to the object, for example,the fetus, in the virtual plane.

For example, the controller 130 may determine a figure matched with theimage data as an oval. In this example, the controller 130 may focus onthe figure matched with the image data using a predetermined color or apredetermined line to display the focused figure on a display screen.When the figure matched with the image data is determined as the oval,the controller 130 may display, on the display screen, informationassociated with at least one of a major axis, a minor axis, acircumference of the oval.

The controller 130 may rotate the ultrasound data to enable the majoraxis of the oval to be parallel with a reference axis of the image data,the major axis of the oval passing the center point of the object andthe reference axis of the image data being a vertical axis or a y axis.

A process of setting the reference axis may be described with referenceto FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 illustrates a process of setting a reference axis according to anembodiment of the present invention.

When an object is a fetus, the 3D ultrasound system 100 obtains aplurality of slice data with respect to a side direction of ultrasounddata in operation 410. The 3D ultrasound system 100 may obtain theplurality of slice data with respect to the side direction of theultrasound data based on an initial plane of A-Plane.

In operation 420, the 3D ultrasound system 100 measures an FMF anglebetween a first feature associated with a dorsum nasi of the fetus and asecond feature point associated with a palate of the fetus, with respectto each slice data. The 3D ultrasound system 100 measures the FMF anglebetween a nasal bridge and a palate, and particularly, measures adirection where the FMF angle is formed.

In operation 430, the 3D ultrasound system 100 determines a direction ofa head of the fetus based on an FMF angle measured with respect to eachslice data. The 3D ultrasound system 100 performs scoring with respectto the direction of the head determined in each slice data, anddetermines a direction having a relatively higher score as the directionof the head of the fetus.

For example, when ten slice data are obtained from the ultrasound data,the 3D ultrasound system 100 may perform scoring with respect to thedirection of the head estimated from each slice data, as‘left:right=7:3’. Therefore, the left having a relatively higher scoremay be determined as the direction of the head of the fetus.

In operation 440, the 3D ultrasound system 100 determines, as thereference axis, a location of a falx included in a reference imagehaving a highest brightness intensity among reference images obtained byscanning the falx of the fetus in the determined direction of the head.The 3D ultrasound system 100 may determine, as the reference axis usedfor obtaining a sagittal view, the location where the reference image isoutputted to be brightest.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the controller 130 of the 3D ultrasoundsystem 100 may rotate the ultrasound data by an angle between a majoraxis of an oval and a reference axis of image data, the major axispassing a center point of the object and the reference axis being avertical axis or a y axis.

According to an embodiment, the 3D ultrasound data with respect to anobject inside a human body may automatically determine an accuratesagittal view.

In operation 350, the 3D ultrasound system 100 finely rotates theultrasound data based on a manipulation of an operator to redeterminethe sagittal view.

Therefore, when the object is the fetus, the controller 130 may finelyrotate the ultrasound data based on the manipulation of the operator,and the manipulation may be based on a fine movement of the fetus andthus, a more accurate sagittal view may be determined.

In operation 360, when the object inside the human body is the fetus,the 3D ultrasound system 100 automatically measures, from the ultrasounddata determined as the sagittal view, a thickness of an NT of the fetus,based on a set seed, or automatically measures, from the ultrasound datadetermined as the sagittal view, an FMF angle between a first featurepoint associated with a dorsum nasi of the fetus and a second featurepoint associated with a palate of the fetus.

The measuring unit 150 may display the measured thickness of the NT ofthe fetus or the measured FMF angle on the display screen and thus, theoperator or a physician may more accurately diagnose whether the fetushas an abnormality, based on the measured data.

When the sagittal view is redetermined by finely rotating the ultrasounddata based on a manipulation of the operator, the measuring unit 150 mayedit the measured thickness of the NT of the fetus, the measured FMFangle, a circumference of a figure matched with the image data, forexample, a circumference of an oval, and the like.

Therefore, according to an embodiment, when the object is the fetus, thethickness of the NT of the fetus or the FMF angle between the dorsumnasi and the palate of the fetus are measured from the ultrasound datadetermined as the sagittal view and thus, whether the fetus has anabnormality may be accurately diagnosed.

In this example, the measuring unit 150 may focus on the NT of the fetusor the first feature point and the second feature point in theultrasound data, using a predetermined color or a predetermined line andmay display the focused data around the seed.

The method according to the above-described embodiments of the presentinvention may be recorded in non-transitory computer readable mediaincluding program instructions to implement various operations embodiedby a computer. The media may also include, alone or in combination withthe program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like.Examples of non-transitory computer readable media include magneticmedia such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical mediasuch as CD ROM disks and DVDs; magneto-optical media such as opticaldisks; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store andperform program instructions, such as read-only memory (ROM), randomaccess memory (RAM), flash memory, and the like. Examples of programinstructions include both machine code, such as produced by a compiler,and files containing higher level code that may be executed by thecomputer using an interpreter.

Although a few example embodiments have been shown and described, itwould be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may bemade in these example embodiments without departing from the principlesand spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claimsand their equivalents.

1. A three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound system, the system comprising: ascanner to generate ultrasound data including image data generated byscanning an object inside a human body; a processing unit to detect acenter point of the object from the generated ultrasound data, and togenerate, on the ultrasound data, a virtual plane on which the detectedcenter point is placed; and a controller to rotate the ultrasound databased on the image data included in the virtual plane and to determine asagittal view with respect to the object.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein, when the object is a fetus, the system further comprises: adirection identifier to obtain a plurality of slice data with respect toa side direction of the ultrasound data; and a measuring unit tomeasure, with respect to each of the plurality of slice data, an anglebetween a first feature point associated with a dorsum nasi of the fetusand a second feature point associated with a palate of the fetus,wherein the direction identifier determines a direction of a head of thefetus based on an angle measured for each of the plurality of slicedata.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the controller selects, as areference axis, a location of a falx being in a reference image having ahighest brightness intensity among reference images obtained by scanningthe falx of the fetus in the determined direction of the head.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, the controller matches, with the image data includedin the virtual plane, a figure corresponding to the image data, androtates the ultrasound data to enable an axis constituting the matchedfigure to be parallel with a predetermined reference axis.
 5. The systemof claim 4, wherein, when the matched figure is an oval, the controllerrotates the ultrasound data to enable a major axis of the oval to beparallel with the predetermined reference axis.
 6. The system of claim1, wherein the controller matches, with the image data included in thevirtual plane, a figure corresponding to the image data, and rotates theultrasound data by an angle between an axis constituting the matchedfigure and the predetermined reference axis.
 7. The system of claim 1,wherein, when the object is a fetus, the processing unit performs:determining, from the generated ultrasound data, a first feature pointassociated with a dorsum nasi of the fetus; determining, based on thefirst feature point, a second feature point associated with a palate ofthe fetus; and detecting the center point of the object based on thedetermined second feature point.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein, whenthe object is the fetus, the system further comprises: a seed settingunit to set a seed around a nuchal translucency (NT) of the fetus in theultrasound data that is determined as the sagittal view; and a measuringunit to measure a thickness of the NT based on the set seed.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein, when the object is the fetus, the systemfurther comprises: a measuring unit to measure, from the ultrasound datadetermined as the sagittal view, an angle between a first feature pointassociated with a dorsum nasi of the fetus and a second feature pointassociated with a palate of the fetus.
 10. The system of claim 1,wherein the controller finely rotates the ultrasound data based on amanipulation of an operator to redetermine the sagittal view.
 11. Amethod of operating a 3D ultrasound system, the method comprising:generating ultrasound data including image data generated by scanning anobject inside a human body; detecting a center of the object from thegenerated ultrasound data; generating, on the ultrasound data, a virtualplane on which the detected center point is placed; and determining asagittal view with respect to the object by rotating the ultrasound databased on the image data included in the virtual plane.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, wherein, when the object is a fetus, the method furthercomprises: obtaining a plurality of slice data with respect to a sidedirection of the ultrasound data; measuring, with respect to each of theplurality of slice data, an angle between a first feature pointassociated with a dorsum nasi of the fetus and a second feature pointassociated with a palate of the fetus; and determining a direction of ahead of the fetus based on an angle measured for each of the pluralityof slice data.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:selecting, as a reference axis, a location of a falx being in areference image having a highest brightness intensity among referenceimages generated by scanning the falx of the fetus in the determineddirection of the head.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein thedetermining comprises: matching, with the image data included in thevirtual plane, a figure corresponding to the image data; and rotatingthe ultrasound data to enable an axis constituting the matched figure tobe parallel with a predetermined reference axis.
 15. The method of claim14, wherein, when the matched figure is an oval, the rotating comprises:rotating the ultrasound data to enable a major axis of the oval to beparallel with the predetermined reference axis.
 16. The method of claim11, wherein, when the object is a fetus, the searching comprises:determining, from the generated ultrasound data, a first feature pointassociated with a dorsum nasi of the fetus; determining, based on thefirst feature point, a second feature point associated with a palate ofthe fetus; and detecting the center point of the object based on thedetermined second feature point.
 17. The method of claim 11, wherein,when the object is a fetus, the method further comprises: setting a seedaround an NT of the fetus in the ultrasound data that is determined asthe sagittal view; and measuring a thickness of the NT based on the setseed.
 18. The method of claim 11, wherein, when the object is a fetus,the method further comprises: measuring, from the ultrasound datadetermined as the sagittal view, an angle between a first feature pointassociated with a dorsum nasi of the fetus and a second feature pointassociated with a palate of the fetus.
 19. The method of claim 11,further comprising: redetermining the sagittal view by finely rotatingthe ultrasound data based on a manipulation of an operator.